By Krista Williams, M.S.ED, C.A.S., School Psychologist

Nobody understands and knows your children as well as you, the parents, do. You have watched them blossom from infants and grow and develop into fantastic preschoolers. Along the way, you have been able to observe all their habits, idiosyncrasies, triumphs and challenges. It is very common to have questions about your child’s development, and if they are progressing as they should. Often your child’s preschool teacher or pediatrician can be a good source of information for you. If you, your pediatrician, or your child’s teacher feel that there are concerns regarding your child’s development, there are many educational services available to you and your child. These may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language therapy or special education teacher services. Obtaining these services begins by contacting either the county health department or your school district and requesting a preschool developmental evaluation. The county is the point of contact for children birth to age three. Your local school district is the point of contact for children ages 3-5. Every school district has a Committee on Preschool Special Education that serves children 3-5. Funding and supervision of programs for children ages 3-5 is a joint effort between the county, the school district and the New York State Education Department. Another wonderful resource is the Early Childhood Direction Center. This is an organization that assists parents by fielding questions and referring them to professionals in the very early stages of a parent's concerns.

Once you have shared your concerns regarding your child with the county or school district, an individual evaluation will be recommended. The purpose of this evaluation will be to provide you, the school district and the county with developmental information regarding a child’s strengths and needs, and ultimately determine whether or not special services are appropriate. At this age an educational label is not necessary in order to receive services.

The actual individual evaluation process is typically very child-friendly. Many evaluation sites utilize a play-based assessment format, where children are essentially playing in a comfortable environment and evaluators imbed their observations and standardized tests into the play. This provides a nice opportunity to assess the child as a whole child, gaining a good picture of their strengths and needs. The purpose of the evaluation is to describe a child’s communication, thinking and adaptive skills, social-emotional growth, and motor development, in order to determine his/her needs. Information is obtained from reviewing medical records, an individual psychoeducational evaluation, a social history, parent interview, observations of the child in home or school setting and other assessment procedures as necessary. At Jowonio the evaluation team consists of a school psychologist, speech pathologist, special education teacher, physical therapist, occupational therapist and nurse.

Preschool evaluations typically include a cognitive assessment, language and communication assessment, motor assessment, and observations of the child in different settings. A cognitive assessment measures many learning skills including attention span, thinking processes, problem solving, memory, non-verbal skills, problem solving skills, and learning styles; we look for these skills through formal “tests” and informal interactions. A speech-language therapist seeks information about a child’s understanding of language, communication style and use of language including articulation, oral-motor development and feeding/swallowing skills. A trip to the Secret Garden, our occupational and physical therapy space, offers a chance to see a child’s fine and gross motor skills and sensory processing. A critical dimension of the evaluation is an observation of the child in their preschool or at home, to assess the child’s “real-life” functioning and how he/she uses social and language skills. Here we see a more accurate picture of skills because the child is in a familiar setting. These observations are used in conjunction with the evaluation-day observations to gain a true sense of the child’s abilities.

Evaluations are a collaborative effort between the evaluation team and the family. Families are needed to provide specific information about the child’s birth, development, and needs. Every step of the way, parents are an integral part of the process, both in the evaluation and in program planning. They can tell the evaluators whether their impressions of the child are typical, and they help choose the appropriate services for their child if needed. Once the evaluation has been completed, the results are communicated to the parent in a meeting with the team, and a copy of the written evaluation typically follows. After the evaluation results have been shared with parents, families are invited to a meeting with county representatives and school district representatives, at which time, it is determined by the Committee on Preschool Special Education (this includes parents), if your child is eligible for special education services and/or programs. If services are recommended the committee will guide you through the subsequent steps to implement an appropriate program. Services can be delivered in a range of ways, including services delivered in the home, services delivered in a preschool setting, or a more comprehensive inclusive preschool program like Jowonio.

There are many resources and services available in your area to help all children reach their full potential as a learner and a peer. If you have questions or concerns regarding your children, please feel free to speak to the staff at Jowonio at any time.

Referral contacts:

• Your local school district
• Your county health department

Early Childhood Direction Center , 1-800-962-5488 or 315-443-4444

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